


Alone In Jersey (McDanno's Twins // Season 1, Episode 5 - PART 1)

by OTP_Obsessed



Series: Hawaii Five-O: 'At-Home' Mini-Series (McDanno's Twins) [5]
Category: Hawaii (TV), Hawaii Five-0 (2010), McDanno - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Charlie and Grace, Daddy Steve, Danny's children mentioned, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy little family, Holidays, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Love, M/M, McDanno Twins, Poor Danny, Romance, Same-Sex Marriage, Schmoop, Sick Danny, Steve cares for Danny, Sweet, This took way too long to write!, Twin Series, mcdanno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:36:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25946704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OTP_Obsessed/pseuds/OTP_Obsessed
Summary: It's the Twins 4th birthday! Danny wants to take them to New Jersey to celebrate but, like usual, Steve is against anything Jersey-related. However, after bribing with the plan of some time set aside for just the two of them--which is much needed after the last few months they've had--Danny gets Steve to finally agree to go. But, after a run-in with food poisoning leaves him down for the count, Danny may not get the vacation he had imagined after all.*This is PART 1 of 4*>> Special thanks to "sue2556" for help making this episode fantastic! <<
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: Hawaii Five-O: 'At-Home' Mini-Series (McDanno's Twins) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1841155
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	Alone In Jersey (McDanno's Twins // Season 1, Episode 5 - PART 1)

**Author's Note:**

> Episode 5 of the McDanno Twins Series has been updated! I do hope it was worth the wait. As always, feel free to leave your feedback! (I could definitely use it on this story!) Enjoy.

APRIL

A strong shift in turbulence slammed Steve's head against the plastic border around Flight 410's windows. Rattled, Steve's eyes flashed awake and fluttered for a moment. He took in a sharp breath, while massaging the stiffness from his neck, and sat up at attention in his seat, looking around for a reminder to where he was. It was then that a soft ding echoed above his head, followed by a muffled female voice:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent into Los Angeles. Please turn off all portable electronic devices and stow them until we have arrived at the gate. In preparation for landing, be certain your seat back is straight up and your seat belt is fastened. Please secure all carry-on items under your seats, return your tray table to its upright and locked position and make sure your seats are also locked in their upright position. Attendants will be coming around for one final sweep of unwanted service items you wish to discard. All passengers with a connecting flight to New Jersey, Flight 2324 is on-time and estimated to arrive at Gate D3 at 9:30pm, local time. That's all for now. Just sit back, relax, and we'll be arriving at LAX in just a few short moments."

"Right, Jersey..." Steve was reminded of where they were headed when Danny fell against his shoulder and let a soft snort escape his nose, as he snuggled deeper into Steve, crossing his arms against his chest. Letting the dull hum of the 747 aircraft soothe him, Steve's smile spread all the way to his bright eyes, as he watched Danny sleep, deeply. After admiring his love for a few moments, he turned his attention to his opposite side and slid the plastic covering to the top of his window, revealing a map of microscopic lights, illuminating the city below them. Steve leaned his head against the window and frowned, feeling his insides start to quiver. "Why did I go along with this?" he asked himself, secretly wishing the plane would turn back around.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Steve darted his eyes to Danny and felt his chest grow tight as it filled with guilt. He knew how much planning Danny had put into this trip to make it special. And, honestly, that's why Steve had agreed to go on this trip in the first place. He knew they needed a real vacation—especially after the last few months they've had. It would be a good bonding time for them and a wonderful experience for the Twins. But, even with all those pros in mind, there was still a tiny something tugging at Steve's mind, pestering him to return home; begging him in fact.

Steve's eyes frowned and his chest grew heavier. He closed his eyes and leaned over to bury an apologetic kiss into Danny's ruffled hair, as he reminisced the events that got him here in the first place.

~*~

FLASHBACK TO JANUARY

“Absolutely not,” Steve commanded, leaning back in his office chair with his feet propped up on the desk. There were a few strips of white bandages, holding together the cut above his right eye. His left wrist was splinted and supported from a blue sling, that hung around his neck. Danny stood behind Steve’s chair and held a bag of ice against the lower right part of his partner’s neck.

“Why not?” Danny asked, massaging Steve’s left shoulder with his free hand.

“Because it’s Jersey, Danny,” Steve said, rolling his neck from side-to-side. “I don’t want the kids spending their birthday in New Jersey when they could be spending it somewhere so much nicer.”

Danny pulled the ice away from Steve’s neck, abruptly. “Okay, enough. Hawaii isn't perfect, Steven,” he sassed, circling around to the front of Steve’s desk. Steve lowered his feet to the floor and leaned his arms against the desk. He sighed and rolled his eyes up at Danny. “Second of all, they’re not the kids, they’re our kids,” Danny reminded, gesturing his hands frantically, while still holding the bag of ice. “Anything we do with them we’re supposed to do together, not separately. And third…” He realized he was still holding the ice and threw it onto the desk so he could free up his hands. Then, he pressed his palms together and pointed them, directly, at Steve, “…I would like my kids to have one—just one—of the experiences I did growing up.”

“Gracie already got to experience Jersey, didn’t she?” Steve asked, massaging the back of his neck with his right hand.

“Grace doesn’t count, Steven,” Danny scowled, plopping down into Steve’s office couch. “She already knows what Jersey has to offer. But now, I’ve got three more kids to share the experience with.” Danny sighed, shaking his head. Then, noticing Steve massaging his own neck, he rose from the couch, grabbed the bag of ice, and circled back behind Steve’s chair. “Could you please just hear me out, this once?” he asked, returning the ice to Steve’s neck.

“Why Jersey, though?” Steve said, his face still buried into his arm. “Why not someplace you haven’t been before?”

“Charlie and the Twins haven’t been to Jersey before, Steve,” Danny reminded. He tilted his head to see if Steve got the message.

Steve lifted his head from the desk. He leaned back in his chair and let out a defeated sigh. “Alright, I’m listening,” he said. “What’s your plan?”

Danny smiled. “It’s a whole week,” he stated, zealously. “The first day, I figure could be for my parents to spend some time with the kids and we’ll have a date night. Maybe go to Davey’s Deli and see what’s playing at the Moxie? Second day, that’ll be when we celebrate the Twin’s birthday. I’ve got an entire day planned out for them to do with my sisters, while we ready the house for the party. Third day, it’s boardwalk day. Go-karting mini-golf, the works. The fourth day, picnic in the park. And Bridget and Stella want to take Grace on a shopping spree, so I’m going to let ‘em.”

“You warn them they might go broke?” Steve chuckled, now intrigued.

“I did. But I doubt they’ll listen to me,” Danny said. “Finally, on the last day, we’ll go to Everpark, just you, me and the kids. Grace and I used to go there almost every weekend when she was younger, and we had such a great time, so I know Charlie and the Twins will enjoy it. The question now is…” he lifted the ice from Steve’s neck. Steve peered up and met Danny’s eyes. Danny raised his eyebrows at his partner, “…will you?” he asked.

Steve pondered this for a moment. He didn’t understand why anyone would want to go back to a place like New Jersey when they had Paradise to call home. But maybe it was time he figured it out? He never would understand how Danny could have such feelings towards Jersey without experiencing for himself. And maybe this trip would show him exactly who Danny was before he became the person Steve so much adored. Steve tilted his head; Maybe going to Jersey wasn’t such a bad idea after all. He sighed and sat up, smiling, and pulled Danny to his lap. “When are we booking the trip?” he asked, wrapping his arms around his partner’s back.

Danny grinned with the corner of his mouth. “You mean it?” Steve nodded. Danny wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck and planted a deep, passionate kiss on his lips.

~*~

BACK ON THE PLANE

Tiny, familiar voices arose, nearby, from the silence of the internally sleeping plane. Steve opened his eyes and lifted his head, slightly, peering over Danny. A bluish glow, from the strip of lights lining the floor of the passenger cabin, lit his chin as he looked across the aisle, where Grace was seated with Colton on her left and Bailey on her right. She exploded with joy, leaning over her armrest to snap pictures of the view with her phone. The Twins shared in Grace's enthusiasm and bounced, uncontrollably in their seats, trying to look out the window. Bailey leaned her whole body across Grace's lap to get a better view of the scenery and, without thinking, Grace put a protective on her back. Then, bent down to Bailey's level and pointed out the window, smiling, as they admired the view together.

An overwhelming warmth poured into Steve's chest. Grace may not have been his daughter--even though he'd always pictured her that way--but he was happy that she had, so easily, accepted the role of Big Sister to his children. When Steve turned his attention back to his own row, he spotted Charlie, completely mesmerized by, and mouthing the words to, his in-flight movie. Steve chuckled, softly, at how the boy's tiny body sunk down into the seat and had been camouflaged behind his father's body the entire flight. Steve smiled and leaned his head back against the seat, tipping his head to marvel at his tiny Ohana.

A few seconds later, the cabin floor began to tremble, and the passenger seats rocked, steadily, as the plane descended. After the abrupt jerk of the wheels touching down shook up his insides, Steve looked back out the window and discovered that the microscopic city had returned to life-size and was flashing by as a sea of uneven, squirming red, blue, and yellow streaks of lights, as if they were chasing a hero with super-speed. After two nauseating minutes, the flashes, finally, came into focus and metamorphosed into runway lights, beaconing the path to the gates. As the plane circled around to the airport, a male flight attendant came over the intercom:

"Ladies and gentlemen, Hawaiian Airlines, Flight 410, welcomes you to Los Angeles, California. The local time is 7:00pm. For your safety and the safety of those around you, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened and keep the aisle clear until we have arrived at the gate. The Captain will then turn off the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign, indicating it is safe to stand. Please use caution when opening the overhead compartments and removing items, since articles may have shifted during flight. Just a reminder, all passengers connecting to New Jersey, Flight 2324 is estimated to arrive at Gate D3 at 9:30pm, local time. Once again, thank you for flying with us. We know you have many choices and all of us here on Hawaiian Airlines Flight 410 want to thank you for choosing to travel with us. We hope you enjoyed your flight and hope that you will choose to fly with us again real soon. Until next time, Aloha, Mahalo for being our guests and Welcome to Los Angeles. Have a safe trip."

The intercom clicked off and, a second later, the plane rolled to a stop at the gate. Out Steve's window, three more planes were connected to their gates by black, accordion-like catwalks, and the baggage handlers were driving their overflowing trolleys to their proper planes. With a pouty bottom lip, Steve glowered at them, as he watched them work, in sync, and wondered if the rest of his Team, back home, was doing okay being left alone, short-handed. Steve knew Danny had told him not to think about work on this trip but, that was impossible. His job had become such a part of his life that even the shortest time away from it caused an emptiness that relentlessly tugged at his insides, so not thinking about it would just be torture--even on vacation.

Once their catwalk had attached to their plane, the "Fasten Seatbelts" sign switched off, and overhead lights, inside the cabin, flashed on, waking the sleeping plane. Steve peered over Danny's head and smiled, warmly, as Grace conducted the Twins to stay seated until the plane emptied. "That's my girl," Steve chuckled, softly. The flood of passengers around them rose, as one, and gathered their things, trying to exit the plane in a "me-first" fashion. While Steve, and his tiny Ohana, waited for the chaos to clear, he, lightly, shook his arm--which had been taken hostage by Danny's biceps--and attempted to wake his snoring partner. "Hey, Babe. We're here," he whispered, gently caressing Danny's cheek with the tips of his fingers.

Danny moaned, dismissively, burying his head further into Steve's shoulder. "Just five more minutes," he said, tightening his grip around Steve's arms.

Steve chuckled and leaned his nose into Danny's blonde disarray of hair. "As much as I'd love to do that," Steve whispered, raising a teasing eyebrow, "I don't think I can convince them to hold the plane for us."

Danny let a sigh escape his nose. Then, he opened his eyes and sat up, freeing Steve's arm. "What happened to immunity and means?" he challenged, scraping his hair back to its proper place.

"I don't think that counts outside of Hawaii, or for situations like this," Steve said with a wide grin. "Besides, that only counts when we're on-duty and, if I'm recalling this right, it was your idea to spend a week in New Jersey not thinking about work, was it not?"

"Alright, alright, I get it you hate Jersey," Danny dismissed, cocking his head to Steve. "You didn't have to come, you know."

"Yeah, I don't think that was an option," Steve said through a laugh, shaking his head. Then, he flared out the fingers of his hand propped on the armrest, to let Danny know he was teasing.

Danny looked down at Steve's waiting hand and chuckled from his chest. He clicked his tongue with a sigh and rolled his eyes, taking Steve's hand in his. "I hate you," Danny said, unconsciously beaming, as he tightened his fingers around Steve's.

Steve lips pursed and folded into a bright smile. "I love you too," he said, warmly, squeezing Danny's hand.

As the seats around them emptied, the pair stood up, with their hands still united, and herded their family into the claustrophobic aisle. Steve opened the overhead bin and pulled down a small pink, mermaid backpack with B.W.M. stitched in white cursive letters on the top flap—for Bailey—and a green, camo backpack, with C.W.M stitched in yellow army font on the top flap—for Colton. Then, he and Danny helped adjust the two bags onto the Twin’s backs, while Grace reached above their heads and pulled down Charlie’s wheeled bag—the one with the race cars on the front—then, grabbed her own—the orange, hard-cased Oklahoma State bag Rachel had bought her when they toured campus last summer. Steve grabbed the last two bags—his green, Navy duffle and Danny’s black backpack—from the bin, then, double-checked for any items they may have left behind before the family staggered their way to the front of the plane.

Once they had entered the catwalk, Danny gestured out for the kids to switch places. Grace complied and skipped into Danny's line-of-sight, piggy-backing Colton and swinging Bailey around, playfully, with her free hand. Charlie, also, pranced along beside her, his five-year-old legs trying to keep a teenager stride.

Danny froze, momentarily, and fixed his gaze on the spectacle in front of him. He tugged on Steve's hand and gestured out to the children for answers. Steve looked toward the siblings and gave a closed-lip smile, as the same sense of warmth from before returned. Steve turned back and found Danny was still staring at him, blankly. Steve shook his head and chuckled, swinging his duffle bag over his shoulder. Then, he wrapped their locked hands around Danny's neck and pulled his partner to his side. Steve pushed Danny along the catwalk, then, submerged his face in Danny's hair and whispered, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

************

Steve looked to his watch--11:30PM--to the clock on the wall above baggage claim--5:30AM--then back to his watch and sighed, deeply, as he fidgeted with the buttons to bring his watch into the correct time zone; now if only he could get his body to follow. He crossed his arms, trying to hide a yawn and twitched his head, slightly, as a chill raced down his spine. Steve shook off his goosebumps and looked up to the digital sign above the bagged claim:

HONOLULU/LAX FLIGHT 410/2324 BAGS ARRIVING SOON

Soon. Yeah, right. Steve could already tell from the sluggishness in his legs that this was going to be a long week away from the Island. Feeling his eyes grow heavy, he stretched them wide open and flashed them awake a few times, before forcefully rubbing away their jet lag with his thumb and middle finger. When he opened his eyes again, he saw his family approaching. Steve flashed a smile, just long enough to greet them, but was too tired to let it linger on his face. Though, he did let his furrowed eyebrows linger, when he saw Danny, grinning brightly, rushing at him with a fast-paced strut. "Isn't this great?" he asked, adjusting the straps of his backpack. Steve had to squint to shield his dark-adjusted eyes from the brightness on Danny's face. Then, before he gave an answer—and even though he could already tell their true feelings by the way they had all dragged themselves from the restroom over to baggage claim in the first place--he jerked his eyes to check out how the rest of the pack felt about this.

Grace, she fell back against the baggage cart corral and without words, nodded in agreement, while staring vacantly, at the floor by her feet. Bailey rubbed her eyes, staggering over her feet, and dropped, weightlessly, to the floor. Her eyes shut, instantly, as she rested her head on Steve's duffle bag, right beside her already-sleeping twin brother. Then, there was Charlie who let out a careless yawn, as he fell against the side of Steve's leg for comfort. He rubbed the tiredness from his face and rested his chin against Steve's thigh, looking up to the Navy SEAL with puppy-dog eyes. "Are we there yet, Uncle Steve?" he begged, softly, so only Steve could hear. When Steve's wrinkled eyes killed all the young boy's hopes, Charlie closed his eyes and wrapped his arms, around Steve's thigh. Steve rubbed Charlie's back, hoping it would bring him comfort to know that he, too, understood the exhaustion Charlie was feeling—and, at this point, even wished that he had his own 'Uncle Steve' to rub his back when he was sleepy.

Continuing his gentle massage along Charlie's back, Steve looked back up to Danny. He was still flashing his smile and spinning around the room with wide arms, completely oblivious that his whole family unit had either been defeated by the 11-hour flight or had just completely surrendered to the six-hour time jump and was still running on Island Time. Steve wrinkled his nose and nodded his chin out to get Danny's attention, "Hey, Babe, I know you're excited to get to your Mom's, but I think I'm going to need some help carrying all this baggage first."

Danny stopped fluttering and looked to the sign above baggage claim:

HONOLULU/LAX FLIGHT 410/2324 BAGS SORTING

He turned around, scratching at his temple, and gestured to the empty conveyor belt. "Well, yeah, but they're still sorting them."

Steve rolled his eyes and smirked. "I don't mean that baggage, Danny," he said, using his free hand to point to the sleeping Twins at his feet.

Danny looked down at the Twins and felt his heartbeat quicken. He tilted his head and let his jaw drop, slightly, as he admired the sleeping toddlers from afar. They looked so peaceful, he almost didn't want to disturb them. In fact--from what he was just now realizing--this was probably the first bit of sleep they'd had the entire trip and it shouldn't be unnecessarily disturbed. Of course, tell that to baggage claim. A blaring alarm and flashing red light, on top of the conveyor belt station, startled the fatigue out of all the members of the Williams-McGarrett clan; everyone except Danny, obviously. The Twins bodies jumped, in sync, and their faces filled with frustration as they tried to bury their heads in the duffle bag to combat the noise. Steve went to grab the Twins but, Danny stepped in first, taking both twins into his arms. As he stood back up, he provided double soothing motions by rubbing Bailey’s back—she cuddled into the crook of his shoulder, the stress lines in her face relaxing as she fell back to sleep—and tapping Colton’s bottom, lightly, which seemed to help him relax faster than his sister had. When the conveyor belt finally started to spin, Danny turned to the spaced-out Grace and said, "Hey, Monkey? Could you and Charlie help Steve with the bags?"

Grace jerked up, shaking herself back into reality, and nodded. Steve took Charlie's sluggish hand in his and found a spot by the edge of the baggage carousel, which had started to gain a crowd. Grace followed behind, pushing the baggage cart. One by one, the bags pushed through the rubber flaps and slid onto the belt. The waiting crowd moved in closer to inspect the incoming indistinguishable bags. On Grace's right, an older woman stepped forward and pulled the first bag off the belt. She tilted her head and double-checked the tags. Then, she let out a defeated sigh and threw the bag back onto the belt. As she stepped back, crossing her arms, Grace heard her grumble something that sounded like, "Why does everyone have to buy the same bag?" On the left, two guys were in a screaming match because the younger man claimed the older man took off with his bags without checking the tags first. And everyone who had shoved their way in front of Grace, to get their bags first, only ended up waiting for them longer because they couldn’t tell which bag was theirs. Thankfully, Grace didn’t have that problem. Standing on her tiptoes—to see around the jerk who had forced his way in her line of sight—Grace perked up when she saw the bright orange strips of tape wrapped around the handles of five bags of luggage—and two car seats—slide down the ramp onto the conveyor belt. Grace smiled, brightly, and pointed out the bags to Steve and Charlie. The trio, then, shoved their way to the front of the crowd and took the five bags from the conveyor belt—without even checking the tags—and placed them into the baggage cart. By the time they got the bags situated, the car seats had completed a whole round and disappeared behind the second set of black flaps. Steve waited back for them, while Grace and Charlie marched back to Danny with the full baggage cart.

“Here you go, Danno,” Grace smiled, parking the cart at Danny’s feet. She took her carry-on and tossed it into the baggage cart. Then, she took Charlie’s carry-on and, playfully, ran her fingers through his hair, before throwing his race car bag into the cart onto of hers.

“That was fast,” Danny smiled.

“The tape bands really worked,” Grace nodded. “You can thank Uncle Steve for that.”

Danny shook his head. “Nah. We don’t want to give him a swelled head,” he smirked. Grace chuckled. “We’ll go find Grandma, see you upstairs, Monkey,” Danny said, gesturing for Charlie to come along, as he headed for the elevators.

Steve returned, wrestling with the car seats, just as Danny disappeared up a nearby elevator. “Hey, Gracie, everything okay?” he asked, nodding in Danny’s direction.

Grace nodded, “Of course.” She reached down for Steve’s duffle bag and threw it in the cart, then, froze when she saw it land on top of her OK State bag. Her eyes darted in Danny’s direction, then, back to Steve, and her sense of euphoria disappeared when she realized that this was could be her last family adventure. Grace felt her lips grow heavy and fall back over her smile, dragging her troubled eyes towards the floor. Even though her eyes burned from holding back her tears, she forced her lips to curl upward, hoping Steve wouldn’t notice. But, after all these years of knowing him, she should have known that trick doesn’t work on him.

Steve caught onto her change in mood, within seconds, and leaned his head down to check on her. “You alright, Grace?” he asked, tenderly rubbing his hand along the side of her arm. Grace shrugged. Steve nodded his chin toward Grace’s orange suitcase. “Is it about school?” he asked, this time frowning when the word ‘school’ passed his lips, for it wasn’t a word that had ever hurt so much to say before this moment.

This time, Grace nodded. Her throat burned and her chest was heavy. It hurt to breathe. “I just don’t know if I’m ready to say goodbye,” she admitted, crossing her free arm to hold onto the shoulder of the one fidgeting with the handle of her suitcase. It hurt worse to look at Steve. Doing that made all her tear escape. She turned away from Steve, crinkling her torso to hide her clenched face and quivering lips.

Seeing Grace break down tore at Steve’s heart. Danny was right; Grace wasn’t—technically—his daughter. But Grace had always been special to him. Maybe it was because she was Danny’s daughter—and since Danny was Steve’s whole world, she was too—or because he’d always wanted kids of his own, Grace filled that void that no child (until Bailey and Colton, of course) of his own ever could. Whatever the initial reason, Steve always felt the need to protect Grace, as if she was his daughter. Though now that he’d married Danny, and Grace was now—technically—his step-daughter, Steve couldn’t stand seeing his girl hurt. And no matter what role he played—‘step-dad’ or Uncle—Steve knew that, right now, Grace needed him. So, without hesitation, Steve set the car seats on the floor and knelt down beside Grace. He took her into his arms and squeezed as tight as he could, without causing any harm. Grace fell into Steve’s embrace and muffled her sob into his chest. Steve closed his eyes and buried a hundred comforting kisses into Grace’s disheveled hair. Steve ran a steady hand along Grace’s back and waited for her breaths to steady before he softly, asked her, “What makes you think you going to school is ‘goodbye?’”

Grace pulled her head back from Steve’s chest and looked up to him. Steve had to swallow the lump in his throat when he saw her bloodshot eyes. Grace’s voice was tender when she spoke. “I just didn’t think college would come so fast, you know?” She pulled back a bit further, but Steve kept comforting hands on her forearms. “I’m just going to miss being around you guys all the time. And now with the Twins…” She looked in their direction and felt more tears coming.

Steve pulled her back, not wanting her to cry again. “Gracie, no matter where you go or what you do, it will never be goodbye,” he promised, gently rubbing her back. “You could live around the corner, or here in Jersey, it doesn’t matter. We’ll be your Ohana wherever you go and we’ll always be there for you. I know that the world is huge and this chapter of your life is scary but we’ll be there whenever you need us.” Grace looked up to Steve with apprehensive eyes. Steve rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. “I promise,” he whispered. “I know I’m not your father but, trust me, when I say that, I love you—we love you—and nothing, not even this, will ever count as ‘goodbye.’ Understand?”

Grace flashed a soft smile. “I love you, Uncle Steve.”

“I love you too, baby,” Steve smiled. He kissed Grace’s forehead and gave her one final hug. When he pulled back, he nodded his head toward the escalators and teased, “Now, let’s get going before your dad thinks we bailed on a flight back to the Island.” Grace smiled a smile that barred her teeth, as she and Steve shared a laugh, on their way out of baggage claim to meet up with Danny.

*********

“Ooh! There she is!” Clara Williams squealed, loudly, clapping her hands above her head, reaching out for Grace, as she and Steve exited the airport. Grace blushed and greeted her grandmother with open arms. Clara clutched Grace, pulling the girl tight to her chest and kissing her head.

Grace’s cheek smooshed against Clara’s blouse. She took in the strong aroma of her cookie perfume and felt a sudden warmth—a certain safety—calm her. “Hi Grandma,” Grace said, closing her eyes to let the moment last a little longer. Clara kissed Grace’s head, then, released her to Danny. Grace and Danny shared a smile but hers quickly disappeared when Danny lifted the suitcase into the car, exposing the ‘Oklahoma State University Cheer’ logo on its backside.

“Hey, you alright, Monkey?” Danny asked, noticing how suddenly quiet Grace had become. He placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled Grace to his side.

Grace peered up at Danny and nodded, lightly, “Just tired.” It hurt to look at him too, but she didn’t have any tears left.

Danny knew she wasn’t telling him everything—he was a detective after all. And he knew that Grace knew better than to lie to him. But her swollen eyes told him that, maybe, he should let this one go; for now. Sometimes even Danny knew it was okay to choose being a dad, over being a detective. “Alright,” he smirked, hesitantly. He enveloped her with both arms and kissed the top of her head. He rubbed her shoulder, then sent her off to the other side of the SUV, where she was met by the waiting arms of her grandfather. Danny smiled at their embrace, then, turned back to wait for Steve.

“Nice to see you again, Mom,” Steve greeted, struggling to get a handle on the car seats.

Steve put them at his feet and leaned over to hug Clara. She held him for a moment and pressed a few kisses to his cheek. Then, when she pulled away, she gestured to the car seats and asked, softly, “Who’s idea was it to bring these things?”

Steve took in a steely breath before answering, “Uh, Danny’s…?”

“Uh, huh, is that so?” Clara nodded, pondering this. She knelt down and took the car seats in each hand, then, turned, quickly, and stormed back towards the car, locking her eyes on Danny. Steve followed but kept his distance, for fear of the ricochet about to bounce off the argument he had just initiated. When Clara met up with Danny, she held up the car seats and cocked her hip. “Daniel Desmond Williams, was this really necessary?” she asked, disappointedly. “You do know it’s my right as a grandmother to spend money on my own grandchildren, right?”

Danny’s eyes widened. The last time she had used his full name like that, he had just turned 16 and had been caught “borrowing” his parent's car to drive his friends to a party. They ended up grounding him, so those friends took someone else’s car. Danny, of course, thanked his parents for grounding him, when he later saw his friends had been killed because the driver of their new ride shouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel. But that was a memory Danny had longed suppressed—just like his middle name. In fact, he’d almost forgotten what his middle name was, had his mother not reminded him of it, just now. Coming back to reality, Danny took the car seats from Clara and placed them on the ground. Then, he took his mother’s hands in his and smiled, apologetically, “You know, Ma, you’re right. I apologize. I was just being practical because we don’t know when we’d be back, so why would you need to go out and buy them car seats?” He gestured to the sleeping Twins inside the SUV and smiled, “But since you have, I guess ours can just go in the trunk.”

Clara dropped her arms and smiled, warmly, at him. “Instead of making your husband lug these things around, you could have just called and asked me if I had any already, you know?” she said, wiggling her finger, friskily, in front of Danny’s face. She kissed him on the cheek then moved to put the car seats in the trunk.

Steve met up with Danny and nodded. “You know I agree. Why didn’t we just call first?” he breathed, crossing his arms.

“What’s the fun in that?” Danny teased, climbing into the seat next to Grace.

“You, you know what…” Steve grumbled under his breath. He climbed in and took the window seat beside his husband. After buckling his belt, he scowled at Danny, ready to scold him but couldn’t find any words. Danny smirked and laid his hand on Steve’s lap, flaring out his fingers. Steve looked down at Danny’s waiting hand and chuckled. When he realized the game they were playing, and that it’s exactly something he would have done—had Danny not beaten him to it first—Steve sighed and rolled his eyes, grabbing Danny’s hand. "…you’re unbelievable," Steve said, unconsciously beaming. Steve tightened his fingers around Danny’s and gestured for a cuddle.

“I love you, too,” Danny said, cuddling up to Steve.

************

JERSEY ADVENTURE - DAY ONE

Danny stood over his sleeping partner and felt his stomach flutter. He always enjoyed listening to Steve sucking in and out his snores back home—funny; Hawaii really was home now, wasn’t it?—but there was something new about the way Steve’s snores echoed off the walls of his parent’s spare bedroom that melted Danny’s heart. The bed crunched under Danny’s knee, as he knelt down to give a kiss to Steve’s rosy cheek. Steve sucked in a final snore and jolted awake, at the same time, startling Danny back off the bed. Steve glanced around the room, squinting his eyes, and wiped the gunk from his mouth, trying to gain his bearings. His morning voice was still gruff when he finally met Danny’s eyes. “Danny? What time is it?” he asked, groggily.

“Almost noon.” Danny crawled back on the bed and cuddled up to Steve’s side.

Steve wrapped an arm around Danny and kissed his forehead. “Noon? Why didn’t you get me up sooner? I thought you had every minute of this trip planned for something to do?”

“I do,” Danny smiled. “But I budgeted some extra time out today so we could make up for the time jump.”

“So, does that mean I can go back to sleep?” Steve asked, closing his eyes before he got an answer.

“Not if you want to miss breakfast for lunch,” Danny exhaled, sternly, patting Steve’s chest, slowly but firmly. He pressed a kiss to Steve’s neck, then, slid off the bed and headed back into the hallway. He called out to Steve over his shoulder. “Everybody’s downstairs when you’re ready.”

Steve rested an arm over his eyes and sighed, heavily. He peered out from under his arm and gazed into the hallway after Danny, listening to the muffled commotion coming from downstairs. He had never been around the entire William’s family, at once, before. He knew Clara, met Bridget briefly when she came to the Island for her work seminar, and Eric—who was still working back on the Island—but that was it. He’d always hoped to meet the rest of the clan but, now that he was moments from actually experiencing them all together, Steve’s heart started to panic. He loved Danny—and the Williams he had met—but how would they feel about him? If he stayed in bed, like his paralyzed body was telling him too, maybe he’d never have to find out?

Though, after remembering how much planning Danny had put into this trip, Steve forced himself out of bed. He used the master bathroom to clean himself up a bit, then, ventured his way downstairs. He stopped, halfway down, when the entire William’s family greeted him, like he’d just entered a Japanese restaurant. “Hey, Steve!” they all shouted, in sync, hands raised in the air.

Their shouts caught Steve off guard. He gripped the railing and took a second to compose himself. He’d never had this kind of attention before—Lord knows his own family didn’t act this way—and wasn’t sure how to, initially respond. So, he flashed an awkward smile and continued his way downstairs, into the organized madness that came with the package of being a “hyphenated” Williams. “Steve…” Danny’s voice trailed on, as he greeted him with a kiss, stuffing a grape into his mouth. Steve watched him chew it for a second, then, Danny took Steve’s hand and pulled him into the living room. They stopped a few feet later, in front of the couch, where three of the Williams clan were seated. The two younger faces—a girl, a few years younger than Grace, and a boy, about Charlie’s age—Steve had never seen before. The older man between them seemed familiar to Steve but he wasn’t sure why. Danny swallowed and gestured to the trio. “…this is my niece, Sophie, her brother, Andrew, and their step-dad Sp—”

“Spencer!” Steve said, finally remembering where he’d seen the man before. He reached out a hand, trying to cover for his sudden excitement.

“That’s right,” Spencer shook Steve’s hand cautiously. “Have—have we met before?”

“Kind of. You and Danny’s sister attended that work seminar on the Island a while back.” Spencer nodded, putting the pieces together himself. He fell back against the couch, putting his arms around Sophie and Andrew. Steve cleared his throat, “Nice to meet you. Officially this time.”

“You too,” Spencer said, nodding up at Steve but paying more attention to what was on the television.

Danny wrapped an arm around Steve’s waist, pulling him away from the awkwardness and into the kitchen. Steve leaned over and whispered to Danny, “You never told me Bridget actually went for it with that guy.”

Danny frowned. “Yeah, honestly, it’s not something I like to talk about,” he whispered back, sharply. Upon entering the kitchen, Steve stopped and closed his eyes, as the invigorating smell of a family breakfast hit his nose for the first time. He, slowly, peeled his eyes open and let the rich aromas take control of all his senses. Clara was making the bacon, each piece sizzling at a different level of crunchiness. Grace fried the eggs in a pan, dancing goofily beside her grandmother. (Steve would’ve just cooked them in the microwave…but he was happy to see her smiling.) Eddie oozed butter onto the stack of fresh pancakes. And Charlie stood at his grandfather’s side, pouring syrup onto the pancakes in front of him. Steve flashed a hard smile and sat at the bar counter. Danny swallowed his frown and forced a smile, taking Bridget into his arms and greeting her with friendly kisses to her upturned cheeks. “Bridge, you remember my partner, Steve?” Danny asked, nodding to Steve. At the same time, he took the syrup away from Charlie, then, leaned over and whispered, “That’s enough, you animal.” Danny gave Charlie a pat on the back, sending him off to eat with the Twins at the table in the corner, then licked the syrup from his fingers.

Bridget leaned over and greeted Steve with a strong hug. “Nice to see you, again, Steve. Orange juice? Made it myself,” she said, placing the glass in front of Steve before he could answer.

Steve accepted the drink. He took a sip but pulled away when the cold, bitterness hit his teeth. He nodded and swallowed, folding his lips over his teeth to warm them back up. “Nice to see you, too,” he said, squinting at the chill still fading from his gums.

“You know, the way Danny talked about you, I had always felt that the word ‘partner’ had a much deeper meaning between you two. But I never realized it was actually true,” Bridget teased, glancing at Danny from the corner of her eye. “You know, Stella, even though she doesn’t get this whole…” she popped a grape in her mouth and gestured her hands to Danny and Steve, then, locked her fingers together. Steve and Danny met each other’s eyes and smirked. Bridget smiled at their smile, “…she and I actually used to bet on who would pop the question first. I bet you, she bet Danny.”

“Oh, yeah?” Steve chuckled. A flush came over his cheeks and he tipped his head downward, letting the grin on his face reach both of his ears. “It’s too bad Stella’s working because I’d love to tell her she won the bet.”

“Really…?!” Bridget’s jaw dropped into a wide-smile. She turned to Danny and bumped his hip, playfully. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Big Bro.”

“Well you know, Bridge, I didn’t know you dad it in you to divorce Ted for Spencer, so I guess that makes us even,” Danny teased back, crossing his arms. Bridget wrinkled her nose back at him.

“Children, children…” Clara called out over her shoulder, licking the bacon grease from her fingers. She turned around and scolded the siblings with her dripping spatula, “…I don’t want any fighting. This is supposed to be family time, I don’t want any teasing or bullying. Not in my house. We all need to get along, or you can all get out, understand?”

Bridget and Danny sunk their heads like children. “Yes, Ma,” they said, shamefully in sync. Clara nodded, then, returned to the bacon. Danny met Grace’s judging eyes and amused smile and shrugged. Then, gestured, frantically, for her to mind her own business and go back to cooking. Grace chuckled and returned to her eggs. Steve hid his chuckle in his chest so Danny wouldn’t scold him, too.

“Speaking of ‘family time’…” Eddie said, pulling everyone’s attention to him. “…I know the Twin’s birthday is tomorrow but what’s the plan for the rest of the week, Daniel?”

“Here we go,” Steve chuckled under his breath. Danny, who was just about to speak, turned his head, slowly to Steve and raised his eyebrows at him. Danny lifted his hand, setting up to scold Steve, when Clara interjected for him.

“Steven Jack McGarrett, that ‘no teasing’ rule applies to you too,” Clara scolded, from over her shoulder.

Steve’s eyes widened; He had no idea Clara even knew his middle name. Danny must have told her. And by the smug, yet somehow still loving smile, he was flashing, Steve didn’t know how, just yet, but he’d get Danny back for this one. Although, strange as it sounded coming from his mother-in-law, it kind of felt nice to get a ‘proper’ scolding. So, maybe they didn’t think so bad of him after all? Steve clicked his eyebrows up and smirked. Danny knew Clara was waiting for a reply and gestured for Steve to answer her. “Yes, Ma,” Steve replied, genuinely, lifting his glass to his lips. Steve sipped his juice through a smile, not breaking his gaze with Danny.

Danny kept his eyes locked with Steve until he swallowed. Then, he turned back to answer his father’s question. “Yes, Mr. Killjoy over here is right, I’ve got quite a bit planned,” he said. “Though, today I thought it might be fun if you and Ma take the kids to Asbury Park Beach like we did growing up.”

“The beach?” Steve chuckled. “Danny, they live in Hawaii. Our backyard is an ocean.”

Danny put his palms together and gestured them at Steve. “I know it is. But, the Atlantic Ocean is quite different than the Pacific Ocean, Steven. I know you want to forever imprison our children on Paradise Island but, I already told you that I would like them to have one—just one—of the experiences of my life,” he sassed.

“Daniel…” Clara scolded, softly, finishing the bacon. Steve chuckled and sipped his juice.

“Now I see why you two agreed to get married,” Bridget chuckled, aside, taking a bite of her eggs.

Danny let out a defeated sigh. “You know what, forget it,” he said, throwing his hands in the air. His tone turned sarcastic and sassy, while he waved his hands around, frantically, unsure what to do with them. “Steve’s right, we didn’t have to fly all the way here for the beach. We live on an island, there’s water all around us. Why don’t we just go back home? Even though there’s so much more I had planned—because Jersey has more than just beaches to experience—we can just go home now because we live by the ocean, since there’s absolutely no way children would enjoy spending time with their family at this ocean. What was I thinking?”

Steve frowned and tried to reach out to Danny. “Hey, Danny I was just…”

“No, just forget it, Steven!” Danny roared. He pulled his hands away and stormed out of the kitchen.

********

Steve waited a few moments, to let tensions settle, before searching the house for Danny. He was nowhere to be found. So, Steve went to check outside. He knew Danny would not go far from Grace but still did not see him anywhere. Steve sighed, disappointedly, and continued to search left and right. Then, just as he was ready to give up and go back inside, something in the Jersey winds clued him in on to where Danny may have run off to. Steve knew it was unlikely he’d find his partner but decided to go searching anyway. He’d risk getting lost in Jersey if it meant finding Danny.

After a few minutes, and believing he had come up empty, Steve found Danny, at a small playground, just a block over from his house. Steve smiled, watching his other half sway back and forth on the much-to-big swing set, then, felt his heart sink when he remembered why they were here in the first place. He took a deep breath in and out, then, cautiously, made his way to the playground. “Danny…” he said, apologetically, reaching the swings. He sat backward in the one beside Danny because it hurt too much to face him. “…I’m sorry.” With no response, he sighed, then, turned, crunching the chain of the swing. “Babe, I didn’t mean to—”

“For years, you begged me to find the beauty of the island, even though I had a tangible reason to hate it. Yet, any time I even mutter the words New Jersey you refuse to even listen to why I love this state so much,” Danny interrupted, softly but sternly. He frowned and stared at the wood chips under his feet. His voice then, broke and turned into an almost inaudible whisper when he said, “I just don’t understand why you keep hating on my state, but I had to change for yours.”

Steve's eyes sunk and his stomach tied itself into knots. He had no idea Danny felt that way and, the fact that he did, ate at his insides like maggots. Steve never actually felt any real “hatred” towards New Jersey. In fact, ever since meeting Danny, he’d always wanted to come and visit so he could learn more about where Danny hailed from. He thought Danny knew that any “hatred” he ever expressed towards this place was just part of the game they played, not anything real. But the fact that Danny had truly believed he hated this place the whole time put a hole in Steve’s heart. Brought down by this truth, Steve rose from his swing and hurried around to stand in front of Danny. “All this time I thought you knew I was teasing,” he said, regretfully. “I didn’t realize that you—"

“I knew you were teasing…” Danny admitted, looking up at Steve. “…I just thought, after all these years, and since I had come to think of Hawaii as my home, that you’d know there’s no place I’d rather be than there with you and the kids. And that I only brought them here because these last few months were rough and I just thought why not spend some time away with the family. We never got to celebrate your birthday together, last month, because you were away on assignment, so I just wanted to do something special for the Twin’s birthday, where we’d all be together, that’s all.”

Steve watched him with a spacey gaze. “But why the beach?”

Danny grinned. His eyes sparkled, as he let out a steady sigh, tipping his head to Steve. “Because my parents, siblings, and I had the best time at the beach growing up. I know that the Twins have a beach for a back yard and didn’t need to come to Jersey to experience one. But, Hawaii’s beaches and Jersey’s beaches, they’re…they’re just different.” He stopped and shrugged.

Steve returned to his place on the swing, this time facing forward, and took Danny’s hand in his. Danny looked to him, dejectedly. “ I really am sorry,” Steve smiled, locking their fingers together.

Danny nodded, soaking in Steve’s apology. The pair swung, together, for a moment. Then, Danny turned to Steve and smirked, playfully, “You know, I also wanted my parents to take the kids to the beach so we could have some alone time.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you just lead with that?” he asked, meeting Danny’s smug gaze.

“Maybe because my parents don’t need to hear about it,” Danny sassed.

Steve raised his eyebrows. “We’re married. I’m sure your parents know we have sex.”

“Well, yes, obviously, Steven, but it doesn’t need to be a topic we discuss over breakfast, in front of our children, no less,” Danny grimaced.

Steve shrugged, nonchalantly. “Well, technically the Twins are too young to understand what it means. And Charlie is too. So, Gracie would be the only one to worry about but, I’m sure that the topic is something she’s familiar with, so I don’t see what the big deal would be.”

Danny cringed and pulled his hand away from Steve’s, “No big—? Are you serious?!” He jumped up from the swing, shaking his head and gesturing his hands, wildly. “Do you know something I don’t know?! Why—why would you even say something like that?! Grace and sex should not even be in the same sentence, you animal!” That thought gave Danny a bitter taste in his mouth. He swallowed hard, forcing the very idea back down his throat, and fell back into the swing, unable to look at Steve. After a moment to compose himself, Danny finally looked up to Steve and let out a heavy sigh. “Is that why you two took so long in baggage claim?” he asked, softly. “Please tell me it’s at least Will’s and not some other kids.”

Steve raised his eyebrows, spotting the sudden paleness on Danny’s face. “She’s not pregnant, Danny.”

Danny closed his eyes and let his head drop against the rusty chains. Steve smiled, watching the color return to his partner’s face. “So, what were you two talking about?” Danny asked, letting out a sigh of relief.

Steve shook his head. “I think that would be better for you to hear from her,” he said, not wanting to relive the pain of the airport baggage claim again. Danny frowned, unsure he wanted to hear what Grace had to say. Steve stood and moved behind Danny’s swing, “Hey, don’t worry about that now.” He cuddled his arms around Danny and filled the crease of his neck with kisses. Then, running his lips, gently, along Danny’s shoulder, he whispered, sensuously, “What were you saying about alone time?”

Danny closed his eyes and tipped his head back, biting his bottom lip. He let a pleasurable sigh pass under his teeth, as Steve’s touch sent a tingle down his spine. His eyes burst open and pulled away from Steve. Steve stopped and smirked, watching Danny’s cheeks redden. “Not here,” Danny said, breathlessly, jumping up. He yanked Steve from around the swing and the pair raced back to the house.

And it wasn’t long before The Williams Clan left for the beach and, for the first time since adopting the Twins, that Danny and Steve, were alone. They refused to waste any second of it and chased each other upstairs, where passion erupted within seconds of their bodies hitting the bed.

******

As he gingerly ran his fingers along Danny’s bareback, Steve swallowed hard and tried to catch his breath, his body hot and sweaty. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the headboard, releasing slow breaths from trembling lips, listening to his heart pound out from his chest. It had been a while since he and Danny had been able to have “alone time” but his body tingled as much this time, as it did the first time. He looked around, still taking in sharp breaths, and surveyed the room with a delightful grin. Then, he pressed a kiss to Danny’s head and, playfully, whispered, “Now I’m hungry.”

Danny’s eyes were closed but he traced his fingers along all the curves of Steve's chest. “When are you not hungry?” he chuckled, softly.

“It’s not my fault I had to comfort you instead of eating breakfast,” Steve teased.

Danny peered up at him. “Hey, don’t pin your malnutrition on me. I never asked you to comfort me, you chose to do that on your own. If you were that hungry, you should’ve eaten something, you schmuck.”

“Babe…” Steve chuckled, meeting his husband’s eyes. Then, after shutting him up with a kiss, Steve smiled at Danny and said, “…just tell me where Danny Williams loved to eat growing up.”

“Davey’s Deli?” Danny requested.

“Sounds good,” Steve smiled.

***********

The sign on Davey’s window advertised “The Best Deli Subs since 1927.” Steve wasn’t so sure about that. Marco’s Delicatessen back home was so popular, Steve tried but couldn’t remember a time when it wasn’t busy. He’d always have to wait in line for twenty minutes to place his order, yet at Davey’s they just walked right in. So, even though their atmosphere was nice, the service was great, and the familiar aroma of warm bread and meat that made his mouth water as soon as they opened the door, Steve wasn’t sure anyone would ever beat out Marco’s—and they’d been open since 1910.

That was until Davey’s signature Mouth Melter—a toasted, cheese, tomato, and pastrami on white—hit his taste buds. As all the overwhelming flavors of his first bite, literally, melted into his mouth, Steve nodded his head in agreement with the window advertisement. Of course, unless he wanted to lose his “most valued customer” status, there was no way he’d ever actually tell Marco’s that he’d cheated with a better deli but it was true. And Steve finally understood why Danny loved this place so much; they really were the best. Though, for some reason, Danny no longer seemed to think so.

He had gotten his usual. Davey’s Cold Cut Combo—all meat, three cheese, extra veggie—which he didn’t even have to physically order because Davey, himself, still remembered Danny’s order, as if he’d never moved away in the first place, and had it ready before Steve had even finished placing his order. And he had been so excited to reminisce in its flavors, he sat down at the table in the corner—the one beside his academy graduation picture that Davey had hung on his wall of “Hometown Heroes,” beside another picture of an EMT and Danny’s best friend, Tim, from high school who went on to be an airline pilot—before Steve had even finished paying. Yet, his excitement suddenly fell flat, halfway through his foot-long and he pushed the sandwich away, turning to pick at the last of his chips.

“You okay?” Steve asked through a mouth full of meat and cheese.

“Fine,” Danny said. His eyes told a different story, as he sipped, lightly, from the straw of his soft drink. “Something just tastes different this time, I don’t know.”

Steve took another bite of his sandwich, exploding pastrami grease down his chin. “Want them to make you something different?” he asked, wiping his face with the edge of his palm.

“No. Use a napkin, you animal,” he snarked, a bit disgusted at Steve’s behavior. Danny’s abrupt tone forced Steve to swallow hard. He fumbled for a napkin and watched, with a mix of concern and confusion, as Danny shook his head and turned away to look at the pictures on the wall. His eyes burned from holding in tears, remembering how excited Tim had been the day that picture had been taken.

“Danny…?” Steve said with a bit of urgency in his voice. When Danny turned back and realized he’d been looking at the picture long enough for Steve to finish the rest of his food, he cleared his throat, exaggeratedly, and retreated back to his soft drink. “…you sure you’re alright?” Steve asked, again, feeling Danny’s leg start to bounce, uncontrollably, under the table.

Danny nodded and swallowed a sip from his drink. “I’m fine,” he said, licking his lips. “This place just brought back a lot of memories at once, that’s all.” Danny flashed a smirk, then, retreated back to his drink.

“You’re sure?” Steve asked again, certain there was more to Danny’s jitteriness than just overwhelming memories.

“Mmhm,” Danny mumbled, swallowing a final sip of his drink. “In fact, why don’t we go catch a matinee at the Moxie?” He checked his phone and nodded, affirmingly. “Yeah, there’s still a few hours before the family will be home anyway. So, why don’t we go see what’s playing?”

“Why not just put in one of the hundreds of movies at your mom’s house?” Steve suggested, flirtatiously.

Danny leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. “That’s funny, I thought that you, uh, that you were starting to like this place. But I guess I judged too quickly. Turns out, you’re only okay with what Jersey has to offer, as long as you get to sleep with me first, right?” he said, flashing back a teasing smirk.

Steve rolled his eyes and sighed from his nose. This was a battle he was not going to win. He glanced over to the “Hometown Heroes” for a moment, and smirked at the picture of 20-something-year-old Danny, smiling proudly with his new uniform and badge. Steve turned back and met eyes with his present-day Danny, who flashed the same proud smile because he knew he’d won over Steve. “Alright,” Steve sighed, surrendering to Danny’s grin. “What’s playing?”

************

The Moxie only had three showings for their matinee times. The Void—a sci-fi about two astronauts who travel to the space station for a routine mission but only one arrives—Marry, Marry—a horror about the true origin of Bloody Mary—or a third children’s movie called Buggy—which they didn’t even bother reading the description for. So, it became a toss-up between “The Void” and “Marry, Marry,” but, since Steve didn’t really care for Sci-fi movies and Danny had been unusually agreeable since they left Davey’s, the pair, eventually, settled on the latter. At concession, Steve had ordered a large popcorn, three boxes of candy, nachos, and a large soda to share. All of which were gone by the end of the second hour of the three-hour movie, which is when Steve rose to go get a refill.

“Where are you going?” Danny asked, softly, when Steve tried sneaking past him.

“To fill my bucket,” Steve shrugged, shoving the butter-soaked bucket towards his fidgety partner. His fingers glistened from the coat of grease on them. “You want something?”

Danny wrinkled his nose. “No,” he said, firmly, putting some distance between his face and the bucket of oil. Steve shrugged, then, scooted passed Danny, and followed the path of blue LED lights to the exit door. A few seconds after Steve had gone, Danny closed his eyes and rested his head into his hand. His head was throbbing. He tried adjusting in his seat—maybe they’d sat too close to the screen and his neck was cramping up—but that just made the throbbing turn to a pounding sensation instead. Danny sighed and shook his leg. It was probably this movie; he didn’t really like horrors anyway.

“Hey, what’d I miss?” Steve whispered, returning with a full bucket of popcorn. Danny jumped at Steve’s voice, then, immediately settled back down. Steve slid in beside his partner, spilling popcorn all over the floor and Danny’s lap. Danny dusted the pieces off his leg, onto the floor, then, hid his face back into his hand and massaged the side of his temple with his thumb. A few seconds after, Steve felt Danny’s leg grow restless. He turned and offered the popcorn to him. “Sure you don’t want any?” he asked.

Danny put up a hand and shook his head. “No, I’m fine,” he reminded, sinking into his seat. Steve shrugged and took back the popcorn, returning fistfuls to his mouth. Danny cringed feeling his skin start to crawl and his hands grow sweaty. He blew out a hard breath and dried his hands on his trembling thigh, trying to focus on the film in front of him. It worked for a few seconds, until more blood and gore came out of the victim in Marry, Marry. This victim on screen was no worse off than what he’d see on a typical day at work—in fact, the CGI effects in this movie were so poor, even the untrained, non-law enforcement eye would know it was fake—yet, for some reason, it made Danny shut his eyes and his stomach quiver. He swallowed hard and pinched his lips as tight as a vice grip when the squish and splatter of the victim’s organs echoed through the theater's speakers. He curled his toes and let out long, slow breaths, trying to cool the burn at the back of his throat.

Danny jerked his eyes open, a few seconds later, when he felt something touch his hand. It was Steve. And Danny’s hand was more of a fist, white-knuckling the end of the armrest, which he’d covered with his own hand. Danny glared at Steve. “What are you doing?” he snapped, softly, trying not to disrupt the moviegoers behind them.

“It’s okay the scary part’s almost over,” Steve teased, softly, patting the top of Danny’s hand.

Danny yanked his hand away from Steve. “Cut that out,” he scolded a bit too loud. Someone in the row behind them scolded back with a loud ‘Shhhhhhhh.’ Danny flashed them an apologetic smile then, sunk back into his seat and rested his head against the fist of his hand, putting his attention back on the film. But, seconds later, he succumbed to a sudden sharp pain in his left side and felt the room around him start to spin. Then, his whole body started to burn. He caressed his stomach, which had started to churn, and swallowed hard, returning the excess saliva back down his throat. “St-Steve…” he called, softly, almost losing track of his words.

“Yeah?” Steve answered, with a smile, but refused to turn away from the movie.

“Do-do-do you feel hot all of a sudden?” Danny’s voice shook almost as fast as his hands were shaking.

“I’m always hot when I’m around you,” Steve replied, oblivious to his partner’s distress.

“I’m serious!” Danny snapped, a little too loudly again. An even louder ‘Shhhhh’ made Danny’s hands sweaty again. He sunk into his seat and tugged at the collar of his shirt. “I’m serious,” he repeated, softly, shifting in his seat. “Did it just get supper hot in here? Because I’m dying.”

Steve turned away from the movie and, finally noticing the distress on his husband’s face, grew overwhelmed with concern. He put his popcorn on the floor by his feet, then, turned all his attention to Danny. “Hey, Danny, what’s wrong?” he asked, running a comforting hand along the edge of Danny’s forearm. “Do I need to go get help?”

Danny shook his head. “No, I’ll be okay. I just need—” He froze and closed his eyes. Then, his face turned pale and his cheeks puffed out, which he covered with a trembling fist. And, before Steve could ask him if everything was okay, Danny keeled over, jumped up from his seat, and fled the theater faster than Steve had ever driven.

“Danny?!” Steve called out after him, rising from his seat. A third—and most violent—‘SHHHHH!!’ told him to take a seat. Steve whispered a loud, “Sorry…” to the row behind him, with another apologetic wave, and sunk back into his seat. Sitting sideways in his seat, he tried but could not turn his focus back to the movie. For a few more moments, his eyes flashed between the movie screen and the exit door, as he debated whether or not to go after Danny. Then, the film faded to black and, before the start of the third act even came up on the screen, Steve jumped up from his seat and hurried back out into the lobby.

Steve pushed through the double doors and covered his face with his forearm when the lobby overhead lights hit his eyes. He squinted until his vision returned, then, stopped to scope out the room. The Moxie employees had just finished cleaning, leaving no evidence that this venue had been touched within the last hour, so Steve moved towards the front doors to see if Danny had gone outside. But, just as he was about to push them open, he heard a loud surge of water reverb off the walls. Steve jerked his head to follow the sound and spotted two brightly-lit corridors behind him, with a massive, white RESTROOMS sign hanging above.

Without hesitation, Steve hurried into the bathroom. “Dan—oh, sorry,” Steve grunted, pushing past the moviegoer exiting the at the same time, then, continued into the bathroom, anxiously. But, stopped when he discovered that the room was empty. He let out a beaten sigh and placed his hands on his head, glancing around the room. Had the surging sound come from the moviegoer? “Danny?” he called out, pushing open the stall doors. One…two…three…but Danny was not in any of them. Steve reached for the final door, hopelessly, expecting it to swing open like the rest, but his eyes widened when the door jerked back instead. Steve jerked up his cargo pants and knelt to check under the door. When he saw Danny’s legs on the floor, Steve’s heart started pounding. “Hey…hey…Danny?” Steve panicked, rising to his feet. With no answer, he knocked, rapidly, leaning his ear against the door to listen. “Danny…what’s wrong? Answer me!” Steve urged, shaking the door. Still no answer, Steve readied himself to bust the door down but stopped when Danny finally called out to him.

“Steve…” Danny coughed. His voice was so coarse, it sounded like a stranger was calling out for help. “…is that you?”

“Yeah, Danny, it’s me,” Steve replied, letting a relieved sigh escape his chest. His heart slowed, happy to finally hear words—no matter how gruff—from Danny. Steve pushed against the door, again, but it was still locked. “Can you let me in?” he asked, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against the door.

“I can’t move,” Danny informed, weakly.

Steve inspected the door, for a moment, trying to find a way in. When an idea sparked, he knelt down, again, and swung his hand under the door, reaching for the lock with nothing to go on but his sense of touch. Danny peered out of the corners of his swollen eyes and watched, vacantly, as Steve grabbed the knob of the lock between his fingertips. He exhaled, sharply, through his teeth, sliding the lock open, then, let his hand drop. The door swung open and Steve hurried to Danny’s side, kneeling beside his collapsed partner. “Hey, you alright?” he comforted, softly, holding the door closed with his back.

Danny rolled his head along the side of the bowl—the cold porcelain felt good against his throbbing headache—and squinted at Steve; the lights overhead hurt too much to look straight at him. “Do I look alright?” he sassed, taking a long stare at Steve.

Steve’s lips twitched, forcing back a smile, because he didn’t know how to answer that question. To him, Danny always looked “alright;” drop-dead gorgeous in fact. From the first day they met, he’d never thought anything less. Even now, as sick as he, clearly, was, Danny’s eyes still managed to shine that deep, ocean blue that Steve had fallen so deeply in love with. And, though it killed him to see Danny like this—with his shirt unbuttoned to his mid-waist, exposing his clammy chest, his face as pale as snow, and having completely surrendered himself defenseless to whatever was eating at him before—Steve still found him entirely irresistible. “You look…” as much as he wanted to admit his true feelings, he tried to find words of comfort but, instead, settled on, “…not great.”

Danny flashed a quick smile, then, rolled his head back against his forearm. “You, you, do know that you could have lied to me just this once?” he teased, weakly. Steve let his smirk appear and slid down to the floor beside Danny, running a comforting hand along his bicep. Danny swallowed back the sour taste in his mouth and grinned at Steve’s touch, “You know you’re missing the ending of your movie, right?”

“I wasn't really enjoying it anyway,” Steve shrugged, nonchalantly. Danny chuckled from his nose. Steve moved his comforting touch along Danny’s back, then, gave a concerned smile, “You finished?”

Danny took a deep breath. “Yeah, I think—” But he wasn’t. He turned and buried his face back into the toilet, violently spewing out whatever he had leftover in his stomach. Steve wrinkled his nose and turned his head away from the strong smell of bile that hit his nose, but kept running a comforting hand along Danny’s back. Completely drained, Danny, limply, lifted his arm and slapped the handle of the toilet, letting his arm immediately drop back down. As the disgustingness disappeared, Danny closed his eyes and fell back against the cold porcelain.

Steve waited a few moments to make sure the coast was clear. Then, he patted Danny’s back and, disappointedly, commanded, “Come on, we’re going home.”

“How ‘bout I sleep here?” Danny said, faintly, shaking his head ‘no.’

Steve smirked. How could someone so sick, still find the energy to be so cute? After realizing there was no way Danny would be walking out of the Moxie on his own, Steve rose back into a squatting position. He placed an arm around Danny’s neck and the other under Danny’s legs. The veins in his arms bulged from under his skin, as he lifted Danny off the floor of the stall. Danny put his arm around Steve’s neck, while falling against his chest, letting the beat of Steve’s heart soothe him. Steve carried Danny, bridal-style, all the way back to the parking lot and helped settle him into the car. “Now, remember…” Steve sighed, playfully, gesturing to the interior of the vehicle as he climbed in, “…we borrowed this car from your Mom, so no messes.”

“Just drive the car before I find the strength to punch you in the face,” Danny snapped back, resting his head against the window.

*********

After having to make four stops—within a thirty-minute drive—because Danny didn’t want to “mess up the rental,” Steve had never been happier to finally see the driveway of a house; especially one that wasn’t his. He put the car in park, then, taking Danny—who was now half-asleep—in his arms like before, Steve headed for the house. Inside was empty and dark but he didn’t want to turn on the lights, for Danny’s sake. Thankfully, he could still see, from the bits of sunlight beaming in through the shades, and ventured upstairs. When he crossed over into the Williams’ spare bedroom, Steve let out a sigh of relief, placing Danny on the bed.

Quietly, Steve pulled his shirt over his head and threw it to the floor by their bags. He leaned over and untied each lace of his shoes, one-by-one, then, kicked them off. The smell released from his overworked boots—which, in all honestly, wouldn’t have been that strong to anyone else—jerked Danny’s eyes open and he sat up, cradling his stomach. Then, before Steve could even notice he was awake, Danny jumped up from the bed and hurried into the master bathroom, slamming the door behind him. This alerted Steve that Danny had woken up and, caught by surprise, Steve called after him, “Hey, you alright?” With no answer, Steve rose from the bed and crossed the room, leaning his head against the door of the bathroom. On the other side, Danny was in the midst of throwing up again. Steve frowned, clenching his eyes. He hated that sound from anyone but it was like a nightmare coming from Danny. When the outbursts silenced for a moment, Steve knocked, lightly, on the door. “Need me to hold your hair back?” he joked, hoping to lighten both his own and Danny’s moods.

Inside the bathroom, Danny leaned his head against the toilet and scowled at the door. Any other day, he would have punched Steve in the throat for making a comment like that at a time like this. But right now his head was spinning, his throat burned, and he barely had the energy left in his body to draw in a breath, let alone ball his hand into a fist.

So punching Steve would have to wait until morning.

*******

**PART 2 COMING SOON**

**Author's Note:**

> If you see this series go dark for a while, DON'T PANIC! 
> 
> THERE'S A LOT MORE COMING, I PROMISE!


End file.
